“Nurturing future generations” has been a policy of the SOSL over many decades. Throughout its 65 years of existence the SOSL has focussed on preserving classical music by presenting regular concerts and by ensuring that young, aspiring musicians and students are given the opportunity to learn the finer skills of orchestral playing, to ensure continuity of orchestral musicians.
The Junior Symphony Orchestra was recently re-established to support and enhance the playing skills of young students of orchestral instruments. Dushyanthi Perera, who counts over 50 years of orchestral playing, trains and directs these young students to learn the nuances of interpretation, skills of listening to each other and playing together as one cohesive unit.
JSO students have the added benefit of being coached in their particular instruments by senior SOSL players, who are able to address technical and interpretive performance factors.
Wherever possible, the SOSL endeavours to help students fund and source instruments that are difficult to procure in Sri Lanka.
With the objective of sharing these skills with as many aspiring students, the JSO training is offered free of charge to musicians with the minimum requirement of grade five performance ability. After a period of training, many JSO students graduate into the SOSL
The SOSL makes special mention of the support provided by the Alliance Francaise of providing rehearsal space for the JSO classes. The commitment of the Alliance Francaise to bettering the skills of young Sri Lankan even in the field of music is greatly appreciated by the SOSL.
